kiddie pool season (for growing)

[terracore]

Kiddie pools are $9.97 at Walmart. About the same size as a 100 gallon grow bag but 1/3 of the cost (drill your own holes). They only seem to be available this time of year so stock up. I heard they are also at Target.

I've also read that slugs/snails can't navigate the lip.

[randomq]

But will my girls still grow nice and tall? Or would they tend to grow wider?

[terracore]

Jamaican Calypso The Big Bamboo Lyrics

i Asked my woman what could I do
To make her happy and to keep her true
She Said only one thing I want from you
Is a little bitty piece of that big bamboo

Chorus:
She want the big bamboo, always long
The big bamboo grows so bold and strong
The big bamboo stands so straight and tall
The big bamboo pleases one and all

Gave my lady a sugar cane
Sweets to the sweet I did explain
Gave it back to my surprise
Said she liked the flavor but not the size

Repeat Chorus

Gave my lady two coconuts
She said to me this is ok, but
I know you want to be nice to me
But what good are the nuts without the bamboo tree

Repeat Chorus

Gave my lady a banana plant
She said to me this is elegant
It's much to nice to go to waste
Cause it's much too soft to suit my taste

Repeat Chorus

i Knew a China man named Lip Long Lo
He went and married down in Mexico
His wife divorce him very quick
Because she want bamboo and not a lousy chop stick

Repeat Chorus

[Wailua Boy]

Baby pools are probably suited to lettuce crops with a shallow root system...

[dayna]

Wailua Boy, you'd be surprised at the things I've grown in containers less deep than a kiddie pool. Including tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, corn, kale, celery, peppers, beans, etc etc.

Dayna

www.E-Z-Caps.com

[Wailua Boy]

Good to know, I guess the depth can be made up in length(and overall volume). Thanks for posting. I guess hydro/aquaponics are good examples of large plants grown in shallow longer containers.

[Wailua Boy]

And big respect to the Puna farmers, making it happen. Aloha

[terracore]

Thanks for your encouragement. We are very excited about our successes with container growing and are looking to expand our yields. A lot of crops don't grow down. Potatoes for example only grow up. I'm growing some in 4 inches of soil with mulch placed on top of that to keep the potatoes from greening. A kiddie pool at 11 inches (even with no mounding) could be the perfect potato patch, I'll let you know after the first experiment. Given ample water and nutrients, most vegetables don't send out long roots as its a waste of the plants energy. I planted corn in deep containers but with daily watering and weekly fertilizing, when I pulled them up the roots were only down about 6 inches. This was a problem when we had moderate winds and one actually blew over. The Burpee web site recommends tying a rope around a container grown corn patch around the perimeter when the corn gets high to prevent losses from wind gusts.